Evaluator: Gareis, K. & Barnett, R. Catalyst and the Community, Families & Work Program at Brandeis University.

Evaluation Methods: A total of 1,755 parents of school-age children employed at one of three Fortune 100 companies across the United States were surveyed and asked approximately 100 questions about their children’s after school arrangements, concerns they have about their children after school, and aspects of their work environment and workplace satisfaction.

Evaluation Type: Non-experimental

Summary of Outcomes: Based on parents surveyed, the study estimates that close to 50 million working parents are potentially over-stressed by parental concern about afterschool time (PCAST), or the time period when parents are worried about what their children are doing during the hours after school, and these parents are likely to bring their concerns to the office. Parents are at higher risk for PCAST when their children spend more time unsupervised, when they have more responsibility for childcare, and when they work longer hours. Because older children (grades 6-12) were more likely to be unsupervised after school, their parents were at higher risk of worrying about what their children were doing after school.

The study found that high levels of PCAST can lead to increased distractions at work, increased work absences, greater job stress, and lower job satisfaction, costing businesses between $50 billion and $300 billion annually in lost productivity. Parents of color may be at greater risk of PCAST, given that they are more likely to rely on afterschool arrangements that are PCAST risk factors, such as leaving children in the care of relatives.

Associated Evaluation: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/after-school-worries-tough-parents-bad-business